Azerbaijan’s First Vice-President Mehriban Aliyeva and French Prime Minister Édouard Philippe then had a meeting.

French Prime Minister hailed the successful development of bilateral relations between the two countries in a number of areas, including in political and economic ones, and underlined good prospects for cooperation. PM Philippe emphasized that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s visit to France last July, and his meeting with President Emmanuel Macron as part of the visit play an important role in developing bilateral relations. The French Prime Minister noted that Azerbaijan’s First Vice-President Mehriban Aliyeva also makes significant contributions to the development of bilateral ties between the two countries. Praising Azerbaijan’s great economic potential, Édouard Philippe pointed to French companies’ engagement in Azerbaijan’s oil and non-oil sector, saying it is important that these companies are more actively involved in the Azerbaijani market.

First Vice-President of Azerbaijan Mehriban Aliyeva hailed the development of relations between the two countries, and expressed her confidence that the visit will make significant contribution to the development of Azerbaijan-France bilateral cooperation.

Pointing out great potential for economic cooperation, First Vice-President Mehriban Aliyeva noted that 59 French companies operate in Azerbaijan, and invited them to be more active in the country.

Mehriban Aliyeva highlighted economic development processes in Azerbaijan, saying it climbed 32 spots to rank 25th, and that Azerbaijan is among ten most reformist countries according to the World Bank’s Doing Business report.

Azerbaijan’s First Vice-President emphasized the importance of holding the meeting of intergovernmental commission this year.

Pointing to the humanitarian, cultural, and scientific cooperation, Mehriban Aliyeva underlined the great interest in French language and literature in Azerbaijan. She noted that the French is taught in more than 300 schools in the country, hailing the successful operation of French Language and Literature Center at Azerbaijan University of Languages, French Language Center at Baku Slavic University, the French Lyceum and the France-Azerbaijan University in Baku.

Pointing out Azerbaijan’s stance on the Armenia-Azerbaijan Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, First Vice-President Mehriban Aliyeva noted that the current status-quo is unacceptable. She underlined the UN Security Council’s four resolutions on the settlement of the conflict, saying the dispute must be resolved on the basis of these resolutions, and norms of international law, within the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.

Prime Minister Édouard Philippe said he remains committed to peace talks, and stands for the settlement of the conflict within international law.

Following the meeting, a ceremony of signing Azerbaijan-France documents was held with the participation of First Vice-President Mehriban Aliyeva and Prime Minister Édouard Philippe.

Azerbaijan’s Minister of Finance Samir Sharifov and Minister of State attached to the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs of the French Republic Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne signed “The Convention for the reconstruction of the Sumgayit-Yalama railway line of the North-South transport corridor as part of the railway sector development program” between the Republic of Azerbaijan and French Development Agency.

Chairman of the Central Bank of Azerbaijan Elman Rustamov and Managing Director at Rothschild & Cie Banque Arielle Malard de Rothschild signed “The agreement on Strategic Cooperation between the Central Bank of Azerbaijan and Rothschild & Cie Banque”.

Chairman of Baku Metro CJSC Zaur Huseynov and Senior Executive Vice President of Thales International Raphael Eskinazi signed “The research agreement on the establishment of Operation Control Center, and the agreement on the implementation of alarm and telecommunication systems of the Khojasan depot”.